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Eric Alterman

Eric Alterman is a distinguished professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is a columnist for The Nation, Moment, and The Daily Beast. His most recent book is Kabuki Democracy: The System vs. Barack Obama.

Recent Articles

How Peretz Undermined Liberalism

As editor-in-chief of The New Republic, Martin Peretz spread the virus of liberal self-hatred.

Eric AltermanJan 27, 2011

Well, it's finally over. Martin Peretz, who, according to David Horowitz's Frontpage webzine, "has been a pillar of responsible liberalism since buying The New Republic magazine in 1974," has finally been shown the door. He did not go quietly. You can find his parting remarks here and also here and here. Peretz left TNR as he inhabited it: in a splendid (and splenetic) fit of pique, pessimism, and personality-driven politics.

Accounting for Kristol

What was The New York Times thinking when it hired neocon propagandist Bill Kristol for its op-ed pages?

Eric AltermanFeb 22, 2008

Pretend for a moment you're a close friend of New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. The two of you are finishing off a nice dinner at say, the Century Club, about to reach for the cognac tray, when Arthur mentions that he's got a decision to make and he'd like to ask your advice. He wants to add a strong conservative voice to the Times op-ed page, and its editor, Andrew Rosenthal, has given him a list of 25 columnists for consideration.

My Marty Peretz Problem -- And Ours

Thirty-three years after he bought The New Republic, it is no longer as influential, or liberal, or even weekly.

Eric AltermanJun 17, 2007

"A magazine," a friend once observed to me over too many glasses of wine, "is by definition a problem." But like Tolstoy's unhappy families, each magazine is its own peculiar problem. And for the past 34 years, the name of The New Republic's problem has been "Martin H. Peretz."

Cruisin' With Miltie

Eric AltermanNov 16, 2006

Ten or so years ago, the good folks at The Nation were nice enough to send me on a week-long cruise of Alaska put on by National Review for its readers. (I did not realize at the time that I was actually doing recognizance for the wiley and parsimonious Victor S. Navasky's business plans.

Contra Gates

Eric AltermanNov 08, 2006

The president announced his pick to replace Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense today: former CIA director Robert Gates. Bound to surface in the coming national scrutiny of Gates is his role in the Iran-Contra affair.

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